The term “virtual assistant” has become quite popular in the past few years, and if you are familiar with the world of entrepreneurship, you must have heard of it already. A VA is a helper that works for a business or an entrepreneur remotely. Businesses can also hire overseas assistants as their job doesn’t demand them to come into the office to perform their duties. VAs are ideal for businesses that run their functions online and don’t have the budget to hire an actual assistant.

The job of a VA can vary depending on the type of business they are working for. However, most general VA are expected to handle day-to-day business tasks that might not emphasis on the company’s development but are essential for running it. Apart from that, your VA can also take care of management tasks like arranging meetings with clients and taking care of any sort of business events. They can also handle your digital marketing tasks, from duplicating ad campaigns to posting regularly on social media. Keep in mind a VA can do any task that does not require their physical presence, provided they have the necessary skills, tools, and training for that task.

If you occasionally feel the need for an assistant who can reduce your workload, then you can turn to an online assistant. You should think of your VA as the advanced AI “Jarvis” from Iron Man. They will do anything you ask of them, except for building a suit of armor, of course.

Advantages of Hiring a VA

Virtual assistants have become more popular among individual business runners and companies. If you are skeptical about hiring a VA for your business, you first need to understand its benefits. Let’s take a look at a few of the reasons that will help you decide whether your business needs a VA or not.

Improved Efficiency

One of the major reasons to hire a virtual assistant is that it increases your or your company’s efficiency. There are a lot of administrative and management tasks that can hold your team back and affect their productivity. If you have employees who were hired to perform specific tasks, then it is better if they stick to that task only. If you burden them with management tasks, they will only feel pressure, and you will lose money every minute they are not working on the more pressing matters.

Save More Money

Hiring a VA does not only improve productivity, but it also helps businesses and individuals save money. If you are planning to hire an actual assistant for your small company, it will only cost you more money. When most of the job tasks can be done from the comfort of home, there is no need to ask the assistant to come in person. On the other hand, if you are paying your employees on an hourly basis, then by removing management tasks from their job duties, you can simply save that cost as well.

Helps with Business Growth 

Hiring new employees is always a challenging task for a small business. Most small companies do not have HR personnel, which makes the hiring process lengthy and complicated. You can obviously hire HR personnel to take care of this matter, but that will prove costly. The better way to deal with this is to hire a skilled VA who knows how to screen applicants and can hire good prospects for your business to help you expand. The most impressive thing about a VA is that they can handle multiple things at once.

24×7 Support for Your Clients

Providing your clients with 24×7 support is vital for every modern-day business. Big companies usually invest in a separate department for customer support or outsource it to another company. Small businesses don’t have the luxury to afford either of those options, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they cannot provide their clients with 24×7 support. A VA can act as a client support representative for any sort of business. You can also consider hiring two VAs on different shifts so that your client will be able to reach you at any moment. That way you don’t have to stay up on your feet all the time to ensure client’s satisfaction.

Two Ways to Hire a VA Quickly?

We have already established that a VA can contribute plenty towards a business, but the question that arises now is how one can hire a VA? Where do they find them? And what is the interview procedure like?

Well! You will not interact with the applicant directly in person, so you will face some challenges, but it is nothing that cannot be handled. Let’s have a look at two of the most efficient ways of hiring a VA:

Freelance Platforms

Most companies and individuals turn towards freelance marketplaces when they have to hire a VA. The process for hiring a VA on freelance is quite simple and much like sports drafting. You will post a job on your freelance page, and the freelancers will start bidding on it. It is strictly advised that you state the job description as clear as possible. You don’t want to hire someone who might not be able to deliver when things get challenging. You can check the freelancers’ feedback on your post and go with the one that has the best answer along with a great reputation. UpWork and Fiverr is a great example of those sites.

Assistants Lending Companies

Hiring a freelance VA is a process that requires plenty of effort. You have to first identify the prospects after going through plenty of profiles, and then you have to screen them to ensure that they are the right fit for the job. If you do not want to go through all this hassle, you can simply visit a VA lending company and can hire one suitable for your need without wasting any time. It might cost a bit more than a freelancer, but at least you won’t have to spend time screening the applicants.